1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a connecting structure for connecting a filter housing to a filter housing retaining structure, to a cleaning system having this type of connecting structure and filter housing retaining structure, to a filter housing cover for a filter housing and to a method for connecting a filter housing cover to a filter housing retaining structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pure water is usually required to supply laboratory devices (e.g. autoclaves, rinsing machines, water baths, etc.). This water should be as free as possible of ions, organic components, particles and other possible impurities so as not to influence the functionality of the laboratory devices or subsequently cause contaminations.
Water is likewise required for the preparation of buffers and cell culture media. The prepared water must have a high degree of purity so that it does not negatively influence the growth of the cell cultures.
Water treatment systems that remove the various impurities from the water are used to prepare pure water or ultrapure water for the applications described above.
In this system, water is conducted through a filter housing containing a filter medium, such as activated carbon and/or resin, which filters the undesirable impurities out of the water.
For this purpose, the filter housing is coupled with a housing of the water treatment system so that it can be supplied via the housing of the water treatment device which contains the water to be cleaned or which is connected to a corresponding water supply line. The purified water then flows back into the collection tank for the purified water within the water treatment device.
However, coupling the filter housing with the housing of the water treatment device has proved to be problematic in the prior art.
For example, a support structure for a filter housing is known from European patent EP 1 542 782 B1. The support structure has two support arms which face each other. Each of the opposing sides of the support arms is provided with a recess that extends in a direction for connecting the filter housing to the support structure. The recesses taper toward the support structure. A latching lug is located on the lower surface of the recess and protrudes into said recess. The filter housing has a cover, the lateral surfaces of which can each be inserted into the recesses. To accomplish this, the lateral surfaces of the cover are first moved in a tilted position along the upper surface of the recesses toward the support structure. As soon as the user senses resistance, which is intended to correspond to the connected position, the user must tilt the cover and the filter housing downward so that a recess in each lateral surface of the cover latches with the latching lug in the recess of the support arms.
However, this design from the prior art has the disadvantage that the lateral surfaces of the cover must initially be fitted precisely into the region between the latching lug and the inclined upper surface of the two recesses in the support arms. This requires that the cover and the filter housing be held in the precisely tilted position, since the latching lug would otherwise block a displacement to the connected position in the recesses.
Consequently, the problem addressed by the present invention is that of providing a connecting structure for connecting a filter housing with a filter housing retaining structure, which permits a simple and reliable connection.